Lust and Caution
by Lithium-Flower567
Summary: Tea's worst nightmare has come true; A full week with the notoriously, cold-hearted Seto Kaiba. In his house. Alone. Save for Mokuba. See the rest of the summary inside.
1. Thursday: Impression

A/N Yet another fic throwing together the two characters that have the least chance of ever truly being together. But we all know this is what is so devastatingly captivating about these stories =P.

Full Summary: Tea's worst nightmare has come true; A full week with the notoriously, cold-hearted Seto Kaiba. In his house. Alone. Save for Mokuba. Can the two come to terms and work together while resisting the strange attraction that flows like electricity between them?

Get ready folks, this one's going to be a bit more risqué than my previous fics. =P

* * *

Chapter 1

_Thursday: Impression_

_--A strong effect produced on the intellect, feelings, and conscious. _

* * *

The hallways were crowded; a mass of bodies shuffling in every direction. The thrum of excitement and relief that the day was over radiated gleefully, only serving to make her more irritated.

Tea Gardner narrowed her eyes hatefully as she spied the object of her fury close his locker and sling his book bag over his shoulder. Walking in his direction, she was tempted to bump him roughly with her shoulder as she passed to make her displeasure known. Instead she stomped to her locker directly across from his, resisting the urge.

By now the crowds had thinned as the eager students raced to be freed from the torturous building of knowledge. She glanced over her shoulder to see if the offending boy had left and froze in surprise. Of course he had to be standing there, staring at her of all people. His thoughtful expression fell into a frown as he noticed her gaze. Still unmoving, Tea glared at him letting him know she was just as displeased at their predicament as he. A tiny smirk appeared on his face at her defiance and he turned to leave.

"Infuriating," she mumbled under her breath as she turned back to her locker. She played the scene over and over again in her mind analysing every aspect as she packed her school bag. Each book found itself being thrust more forcefully than the last as her anger grew. Pushing the interaction to the back of her mind she shivered as she thought about how much time she would have to spend with those ice blue eyes in the too-near future. _Stupid school. Stupid parenting class. Stupid baby/family project. _

It would just figure that she would be paired with the infamous Seto Kaiba of all people! The only reason she was taking the course in the first place was to bring her average up. This was supposed to be a simple, easy course that would involve little homework, and work to even out her average after her embarrassing disaster of a mark in economics last semester.

_Mrs. Yamanaka must be having a real laugh,_ Tea thought acidly. "Oh, I have an idea!" Tea mimicked her teacher's overly girly voice to the now empty hallway, "Let's throw the school's two most well-known enemies together for a family project where they will have to live together for a whole week looking after a robotic baby! Ooh, that will be spectacular! Let's do that!" she kicked her neighbour's locker, stubbing her toe in the process. "Shit!" she moaned and bent to clutch her throbbing foot.

There was a quiet burst of snickering behind her in response.

Tea yelped and fell to the floor. Blushing, she turned her head slowly to see her audience. "Yugi, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that," she muttered, relieved it was only her friend.

"That would have involved interrupting your ever-so-entertaining speech though," Yugi said solemnly as he held his hand out to help her up.

They stood there, Tea glaring and Yugi mock seriousness. Both of their lips twitched slightly until they gave into peals of laughter. When their laughter died down to a low chuckle, they glanced over at Tea's abused bag.

"So, bad day huh?" Yugi asked, smoothly picking up her book bag from the ground to carry for her.

She sighed dejectedly as she clicked her locker shut. "Yeah. How much did you hear?"

"Enough that you don't have to explain," Yugi smiled brightly. "So…you and Kaiba are going to have a baby…"

"Like hell!" Tea screeched, smacking him sharply upside the head. "Don't even joke about that!"

Yugi laughed at his friend's outburst, "Well…technically-" he broke into giggles again when her eye twitched in irritation, "even if it's a mechanical one…"

"Whatever," she grumbled and stomped away from the lockers in the direction of the school's South exit.

"Oh, c'mon! Tea, you know I don't mean anything by it!" He hurried after her quickly retreating form.

Tea subtly slowed her pace so that he could catch up with her. When he did she sighed softly for the umpteenth time that day. "I know, it's just…it's a touchy subject. Thanks to my rotten luck I'll have to spend a whole week with the bastard."

Yugi couldn't keep the grin from sliding back onto his face. "Yami thinks it's pretty funny," he teased, watching and waiting for the cherry red colour to return to his friend's face. As expected, she did not disappoint.

"Yugi! How could you tell him!?"

The boy pranced away from her reaching fingers and he ran, laughing as she chased him all the way to their street five blocks away. The chase came to an end when Yugi darted into his house – dropping her bag on the step –and locked the door behind him.

"Yugi, get out here so I can kick your sorry ass! How could you tell him!?" She banged futilely on the door, screaming at the top of her lungs. All she got in response was a muffled laughter. With an enraged cry, she slammed her fist once more on her friend's door and turned to leave scooping up her bag on the way.

Grumbling and fuming all the way home she began to wonder what it was she was so mad about in the first place. She was now seventeen – eighteen in five days – a senior at Domino High, and her childish crush on her best friend's 'other inhabitant', Yami, had long since dissipated. She had been so naïve. He was from a different time and his heart belonged forever to the woman he left behind in it. Admittedly yes, Tea was the reincarnation of the beautiful Teana that Atem loved so much…

Ew…

Did that mean Yugi and herself were meant to be together like the people they were reincarnated after!? She shuddered. There was no way, Yugi was her best friend! No, she defiantly did _not_ have _those_ feelings for her short, pointy-haired friend.

The reason she was probably so upset was because she admired the dead pharaoh greatly. Before, when Yami had first joined them, she had confused her feelings of admiration for love. He was strong, confident, so sure of himself, and always came to his friends' aid when needed. It would make sense for her to be upset about someone she admired so much seeing her in such an embarrassing situation.

Reaching her house, Tea wearily climbed the steps to the front porch and let herself inside. It was a huge, western styled house with large, sun windows and a porch wrapped around the outside.

"I'm home!" Her voice echoed around the dark, empty house. As usual, she was alone. Her parents worked overseas as journalists – part of a reporters without borders kind of program – and were rarely home. She would sometimes spend months by herself and when her parents returned, it was only for a couple weeks. They would leave Tea monthly deposits in her bank account for the basics plus a little extra for leisurely spending.

Removing her shoes, she made her way to the kitchen to make herself a snack to eat while doing homework all the while muttering about stupid, short friends who couldn't keep their mouths shut.

* * *

_Bring!_

_Bring!_

Tea's head snapped up at the shrill sound of her phone ringing. _My parents just had to pick the most irritating ring tone the phone company offered_, she thought lethargically as she eased herself out of the chair she had been sitting in and made a mental note to change the tone later. She stumbled groggily over to the phone hanging from the wall in the kitchen.

"Hello?" Her eyes flickered over to the clock on the wall. 6:45… _shit, it's late._

"_**Hey dere Tea! What are you up to**__?"_

"Oh, hey Joey," she looked around puzzled as she tried to figure out what it was she had been doing. Her gaze landed on the open book of Japanese homework with what looked like a puddle of drool on it. Wiping her hand across her cheek, she blushed. _I must have fallen asleep while working on it_, she mused as her attention turned back to the conversation. "I was just working on some homework. Why? What's up?"

"_**The gang and I were thinking we'd go down to de bowling ally for a couple hours, maybe have some pizza. We were wondering if yeh wanted to join us?"**_

"Uh, well, I haven't completely finished my homework yet-"

"_**Don't worry about it! Come have some fun with us Tea. They say yeh only live once!"**_

Tea chuckled. She could just imagine him wiggling his eyebrows at her and pulling out that cheeky grin of his. Joey Wheeler was a master of persuasion if nothing else. "Pick me up in ten, I need some time to change out of my uniform," she replied smiling.

"_**Dat's our girl! I'll be dere soon. Don't take to long to get ready; we don't want to be waiting for yeh to curl you hairs or somethin',"**_he joked.

"Real funny, jerk!" she clicked the phone back into place hanging up on the blond joker.

Knowing her friend would probably be too impatient to wait ten minutes, she hurried into her bedroom to change out of the pink jacket and blue skirt that made up her uniform. Pulling on some shorts and a long sleeved shirt, she dashed into the bathroom to wash her face and scrape her hair into a ponytail. Knowing the guys, she would end up paying for at least half of the evening - Joey and Tristan were moochers - so she grabbed her wallet and went to wait outside for Joey's rusty Cadillac, a present from his parents on his seventeenth birthday. She didn't have to wait long. Sure enough the Cadillac came bumping and groaning around the corner of her street five minutes earlier than he'd said he'd give her.

"All right Tea! You're ready! You sure you don't need to primp a bit more?" Tristan called from the back seat as the car came to a jerking halt in front of her house.

She smacked him sharply across the head before climbing into the seat beside him. "Shut up ignoramus, it's just bowling," she said snippily and turned to face the snickering boys who sat in the front.

Tristan laughed along with them and slung his arm casually around Tea's shoulders, ruffling her hair.

Tea couldn't help joining in with their laughter as Joey started the car and pulled out onto the road in the direction of Domino Lanes.

_Tonight will be fun_, she thought happily as she settled into the leather seats of Joey's second-hand car, _it's just what I need to get my mind off of this project_

…

_Wait a minute-_

She turned to look at Yugi in the passenger seat. He noticed her stare and winked at her, grinning. She beamed at the boy realizing that this outing was his doing. He knew she had been upset about the project with Kaiba and planned the trip to get her mind off of it. Leaning forward she grinned happily, "Thank you," she whispered in her friend's ear.

Yugi reached back and squeezed her arm affectionately, "No problem Tea."

* * *

Seto sighed heavily as he threw his book bag into the limo waiting for him outside the school. He heaved himself inside and waved to the driver, signalling him to start moving.

It had been an exhausting, irksome day in which his parenting class teacher, Mrs. Yamanaka, had decided to pair him with the insufferable Tea Gardner for a family project.

He wouldn't even be in the class if it weren't for Mokuba switching the courses on his course option sheet as a sick joke. It was just his luck that he hadn't thought to check over his options once more before handing the form into the guidance councillors. By the time he had realized, it had been too late to switch out of the pathetic excuse for a high school class.

They would have to live together for a week. Seto rubbed his temples trying to soothe the headache he could feel coming on. They would, of course, be staying in his manor. Seto Kaiba would not be spending a week in the house of a commoner, you could be sure of that. He frowned at the thought of her being in his living space for that length of time. She would see him in his working environment. _As long as she doesn't get in my way… _

His thoughts turned to Mokuba and how the boy would take the situation. His brother would probably enjoy his discomfort at having a stranger in their house. The ebony-haired youth had become disgustingly attached to Gardner and her nerd herd. How could his brother actually _like_ the annoyingly, pig-headed Yugi from whom Seto had suffered so many humiliating defeats. He would feel slightly betrayed if he didn't know Mokuba would always choose his side over his rivals'. He had continually supported Seto from the sidelines of almost every duel and for that the he was secretly grateful, even if he pretended he needed no one.

But that was in the past. Unfortunately for Kaiba Corps, Duel Monsters, as with all games, had ridden the tide of popularity only to crash upon the shore along with every other discarded fad. It was rare to see anyone with a duel disk on their person these days. Seto had found himself in need of a new product and so his inventors were put to work. Kaiba Corps began producing the latest in gaming software: Earthe. It was a virtual reality where gamers could actually enter the world of Earthe and battle virtual monsters, gain hit points, and meet new people. The game had taken off a little under a year ago and already had spread to the rest of Japan and the Western world. It was a virtual, global community with sectors dividing one country from the next and allowing people to travel between and meet gamers from a different culture. He had made a fortune from the game and was sitting pretty at the top of it all taking all the credit, of course.

Speaking of Earthe, he had a meeting tomorrow afternoon concerning its spread to the United States. It would be a huge leap for Kaiba Corps as the US would be a huge benefactor and increase sales for Earthe greatly making the company more influential in the great nation. He was mentally running over the proposal presentation as the limo pulled in front of the Kaiba manor. The gravel made crumbling sounds as the tires eased over the driveway coming to a complete stop. The driver came around to open the door for his boss. Seto climbed agilely out of the leather interior and nodded to the man before walking briskly to the main entrance of the house. He had a lot to go over before tomorrow for the meeting. As an afterthought he decided he'd better tell the maids to set up the guest room for the insufferable, know-it-all Gardner as well.

Upon entering he was thrown back by a sudden weight leaping at his person. A thick mass of ebony hair smooshed up against his face and he wrinkled his nose at the feeling.

"Mokuba, what did I tell you about jumping on me when I get home?" he asked sternly, trying to shake the boy from himself.

"Sorry brother," the thirteen year-old smiled letting go of his brother and stepping back to give him some space, "welcome home!"

Seto couldn't help but smile at his childish antics and ruffled the boy's hair as he passed, heading in the direction of his office.

Mokuba followed behind him, tailing the taller boy like a puppy until they reached Seto's office on the second floor. The older brother strode through the door, setting his bag on the mahogany desk in the centre of the room. Mokuba entered as well and silently closed the door behind him.

The room smelt pleasantly of pine and leather. Mokuba used to love dozing in the cushy, black leather chairs opposite Seto's desk while he waited for his brother to finish working and play with him.

"Seto…" the boy said nervously, eyeing the tall brunette shuffling through papers.

"What is it Mokuba?" Seto replied his attention on the documents before him.

"You said we could go out tonight…since we couldn't hang out last weekend…"

Seto stared blankly at the papers before him trying to recall when he made the promise. There was still so much to do and not nearly enough time to finish. A written copy of the proposal for tomorrow's meeting had to be drawn up, plus he needed to go over the details for the company gala he would be hosting in a week. It was a celebration of Earthe's one-year anniversary. There would be many important clients attending and he couldn't afford for anything to be less than magnificent. "Does it have to be tonight? I have a lot of things I need done for tomorrow," he asked preoccupied with his mental to-do-list.

Mokuba's face fell and he lowered his gaze. He had heard that line before. His brother always seemed busy these days and never had time to spare anymore.

Hearing no reply Seto looked up. His expression softened slightly at the semi pout displayed on his younger brother's face. _When was the last time I spent time with him?_ He wondered. "I can make an exception this once, I guess. I can always get Sarah to write the proposal," he said pretending to be indifferent about the matter. It would not be good to let the kid realize just how persuading his pout could be. Seto Kaiba was not one to be easily swayed.

Mokuba's face lit up like the sun and he immediately let out a whoop of excitement. "Yes! Can I pick where we go?" he asked eagerly.

"Sure." Seto began gathering up his files and placing them into orderly piles.

"Let's go bowling!" Before Seto had a chance to reply, the boy rushed out of his office calling over his shoulder, "I'm going to go get ready! Don't forget to change Seto!"

Seto stood frozen at his desk. He slowly reached up and rubbed his temples again. It was going to be a long night. He picked up the phone on his desk and paged his secretary, Sarah, at the main office building ordering her to have a written copy of the meeting proposal on his desk tomorrow morning. After setting down the earpiece he collapsed in a leather chair, the headache worsening. Mokuba just had to pick bowling. Of all the disgusting, common, crappy excuses for public entertainment he had to pick bowling, Seto's least favourite common activity, period.

* * *

Mokuba's excitement was barely contained and the child bounced on the seats of the limo headed for Domino Lanes.

"Almost there, Seto."

Seto tried to refrain from rolling his eyes at the shorter boy. It was just bowling, nothing to get so worked up about. He glanced down at his outfit and remembered the scene Mokuba had made upon returning to find him. There had been nothing wrong with his outfit; it was what he would usually wear lounging around the house when he wasn't working: a white collared shirt with a loose tie. His brother had laughed exasperatedly and asked if he'd really intended to wear that to a bowling ally. Seto's irritation was growing and at this point he'd felt like throwing a chair at the kid. He may be his little brother, but there were times when Mokuba could be the most annoying-

"We're here!" Mokuba cried, hastily unbuckling his seatbelt.

Seto cringed and was forcefully dragged from the safety of the limo by the boy. He felt uncomfortably casual in the clothes Mokuba had picked out for him. The blue jeans were uncomfortably stiff compared to his work pants and the cotton, grey, long-sleeved shirt seemed too flimsy, nowhere near the crispness of a freshly ironed, collared shirt. He looked too average; just like every other teen in Domino. He hated it. His only comfort rested in the duel card pendent that hung from a silver chain around his neck.

* * *

"Steee-rike!!!"

There was a smattering of clapping as Joey bowled his sixth strike in a row. By now his friends had grown tired of his steadily rising points and were less than enthusiastic as they watched their numbers rise minutely in comparison.

"Oh yeah! Who's da man?" the blond grinned cheekily at his discouraged friends.

"Yeah, yeah we heard you the first time," Yugi groaned, his head leaning into his palm as he rested his elbow against the control centre. How tempting that reset button looked…

"Well get ready to start loosing Bucko, it's my turn," Tea announced as she hauled herself up from one of the seats shaped in a semi-circle around their lane. Out of everyone there, Tea had the best chance of catching up with Joey being only twenty points behind the loudmouth; her dancer's grace and expert hand-eye-coordination working to her advantage.

Grasping one of the heavy balls from the stand, Tea swung her arm back preparing to release the object in what would promise to be a strike to match Joey's when a sudden weight threw itself on her. She fell and the ball slipped from her grasp rolling defiantly into the gutter. A ping and booing noise from the screen above their heads told her that she had gotten a zero for the round.

"Ah, come on Joey! That's cheating-" she began but stopped when she recognised the wild ebony hair obstructing her vision, "Mokuba?"

The boy lifted his head to lock his grey eyes to her ultramarine ones. "Hiya Tea!" he exclaimed happily.

The rest of her friends' eyes were wide with the sudden appearance of the younger Kaiba. If Mokuba was here than undoubtedly the older Kaiba-

"Mokuba, what did I tell you about-" Seto's deep voice cut off abruptly when we saw the female residing under Mokuba.

Tea nearly gasped at the man before her. _When did Kaiba get so hot!? He's practically drool-worthy!_ His hair was ruffled like he had dressed in a hurry and had not bothered run a brush through his chocolate locks. _Sexily dishevelled_, her numb brain provided for her. His grey, pullover clung to him in all the right places showing off the curve of his biceps and lean form. And jeans! Tea nearly passed out from the sight. He was supporting deep blue, baggy jeans which only increased his appeal. _Why doesn't he dress like this all the time! He'd have girls begging to date him. Not going to lie, with that body I might beg too. _Tea shook her head trying to force the shameless thoughts into a tiny box in the very back corners of her mind. An embarrassed flush caressed her cheeks and she hoped desperately that the lights were low enough that no one would notice. Unfortunately fate was not so kind.

"Why is your face red Tea?" Mokuba asked innocently being the only one that noticed in his close proximity.

Tea blushed harder at being caught. "It's because you way a tonne and I can't breathe," she lied smoothly moving to push the boy off her.

"Get off of that filth Mokuba, you don't know where it's been," Seto said coldly glaring at Tea.

Mokuba climbed off of the girl and Tea stood, dusting the dirt from her rear. Her eyes glittered with anger and she glared back at the elder brother.

"Look asshole, what makes you think you can speak to me like that?"

Seto smirked in amusement and gave her a once over as if just her appearance alone was reason enough. His eyes lingered however, on the small exposed area of skin her shirt revealed at her midsection. He silently approved of the creamy strip of flesh. Hey, he was human, and a male human at that. He was not totally immune to the alluring creatures that were women. Luckily for him the slight pause in his sweep went unnoticed by all but Mokuba once again. The boy gave him a questioning glance but didn't bring it up.

Tea's face flushed in anger at his implied reply. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be preparing for some dull meeting or something? Aren't places like this supposed to be beneath you?" She knew she was grasping for a line desperately trying to think of something that would pull the argument in her favour.

"Don't pretend to know the inner workings of my company Gardner. And as for this…establishment, it was merely a passing whim of Mokuba's to come here. I obliged this once and accompanied him being his guardian."

"It's true, Seto really didn't want to come," Mokuba chimed in cheerfully, oblivious to the tension between the two brunettes.

Yugi, Tristan and Joey watched the two warily, unable to decide whether or not to intervene.

_God, if he didn't look so damn sexy right now I might be able to retaliate, but my brain's turned to fog. Damn it. _Tea glared furiously at her opponent unable to think clearly.

Seto smirked thinking her blush actually kind of made her more attractive. He would have to try and rile her up more often, if only for the pleasure of seeing that delicate shade of red stain her pale cheeks. "What's the matter Gardner? Can't think of something to say for once in your life?"

Tea growled angrily, "I'm just at a loss for words Kaiba. To think I have to spend a week in the company of such a drab, egotistical bastard. Might as well put a gun to my head and pull the trigger now…"

"Ah, come on Tea. It won't be so bad living with us." Mokuba smiled sweetly at the girl.

"Oh sure-" Tea began before she was cut off hastily by Yugi.

"Okay that's enough for now, Tea we should be going. You still have that homework to finish remember?" the eighteen year-old tried to calm the furious girl down.

She huffed, irritated at seeing the truth in his words. She quickly grabbed her wallet off one of the chairs nearby as the boys made to grab their belongings as well. Seto watched her silently, his eyes never leaving her form as she followed her friends to the exit. It wasn't like her to back down so easily. They could have gone for hours, Seto knew from past experience.

"You running away Gardner?" he called after her trying to provoke her once more.

She turned around to regard him briefly, "No Kaiba, just making a wise and strategically temporary retreat." With that she flipped her hair over her shoulder and left with the rest of her nerd-herd.

He couldn't help but notice the way her short, white denim shorts hugged her butt appreciatively. _When did Garner grow up? She filled out nicely, _he thought.

It would be a very interesting week.

"So are you going to keep staring at Tea's ass all night or are you going to pay attention to me?" Mokuba called out to his brother slyly.

Seto's face burned and he smacked Mokuba sharply across the head. "One game and that's_ it_."

* * *

A/N I'm using the Canadian school system for this story just so everyone knows. I don't know enough about Japanese schools to write about them so I'm playing it safe =P. Well I hope I set the story okay. I even threw in some TeaxSeto fluff at the end to satiate you all for now =D. Until next time!

~LithiumFlower

Preview for Chapter 2: Friday: Solicitous

Tea's last night before she moves into the Kaiba mansion involves an unexpected party with tequila and… frogs?

Will Seto ever surpass and overcome the boring life he leads? ... It's unlikely; he's a stinker for plot development that way.

Plus more fluff filled encounters between the two!!


	2. Friday: Solicitous

A/N I would love to complain endlessly about how much homework I have and how it's delayed this chapter but I doubt any of you care now that it's here…*weeps* ah well, on with the show!!

Whole fic disclaimer: I do not own Yu Gi Oh or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 2

_Friday: Solicitous _

_-- To feel anxious or eager to obtain something desirable._

* * *

Seto wondered if Mrs. Yamanaka could feel the threatening aura directed at her that was emanating from both himself and the Gardner girl that morning. It rolled off their beings like waves and the class around them cowered in fear. Both were very strong presences in the school and no one wanted to get on their bad sides. But no, the unintelligent woman with fake red hair that twisted into a tight knot on the top of her head remained completely oblivious. _Her hair is so stiff it's keeping the oxygen from reaching her brain,_ Seto thought offhandedly has he scoffed non-too silently at the teacher's next remark.

"The babies you will all be receiving will not fully activate until tomorrow afternoon. Make sure you have settled into your living arrangements for the week by then. I have a transmitter that will set off signals and trigger the babies to _awaken,_" she spoke the last word with a wondrous awe resonating throughout her voice like she really believed this was one of the most remarkable things that ever could happen. Her hands waved in the air comically as if she were trying to cast some sort of spell.

_Is this woman for real? _Seto wondered as his mind wandered to other things. The other things being mainly the girl sat in the seat in front of him.

Gardner's form was completely rigid as she scribbled notes in the margins of her assignment sheet, muttering profanities which he assumed were directed at the red-head in front of the class. It was sunny outside, and the rays of light filtering in through the huge classroom windows cast shafts of light upon her brown hair, lighting it up in several areas. She was so close he could smell the scent of her citrus shampoo. It was overwhelming him, and he found himself wanting to reach out and touch the soft, auburn locks. His hand twitched and he almost complied when a screech interrupted his thoughts.

"Whoops, sorry about that," Mrs. Yamanaka giggled as her nail accidentally grazed the chalkboard she was writing on.

_Cut your nails woman! What are you trying to beat a world record or something!? _Seto glared at the woman but was thankful for the interruption. How would he explain himself if he'd actually grabbed her hair? _'Sorry, there was a bug…' _He rolled his eyes at the thought and began tapping his pen on his notebook trying to block Gardner from his thoughts and concentrate on the teacher again.

"As you know, this assignment is taking place over the spring break so while you guys have time off from being at school all day, I would like you to try and get out. Do family things – remember you are pretending to be married for the sake of the project - like going to parks and there is always Hanami festival on Saturday down by Atsuen River. I've heard the fireworks will be the best ever seen in Domino this year. It will be great material for the journals I want you to keep for the duration of the assignment."

A collective groan resounded throughout the room as the extra work was added.

_Brrrrrrrring!_

_Literally saved by the bell, _Seto thought sardonically as he pushed his seat back, the metal making scraping sounds against the floor. Similar scrapes could be heard throughout the room as everyone raced through the door before Mrs. Yamanaka could assign more work to their project.

_She _rose from her seat as well and Seto's eyes were drawn to the hem of her skirt which swished dangerously, threatening to show more than just the creamy skin of her thigh. Gods this was annoying. Ever since the night before at the bowling ally Gardner had been on his mind. Images of her walking away from him, strong-willed and head high had floated endlessly through his mind as he'd tried to sleep. Well she certainly had piqued his interest that was for sure. Only for her looks and argumentative skills though, that's it.

She swept out of the room in a flurry, not even bothering to look at him. He smirked slightly at this. Gathering up his books he headed out as well, his thoughts turning absently to his meeting that afternoon.

* * *

Tea tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for her partner outside the classroom. What was taking the guy so long? He had been watching her pretty intently when she'd left the room, she was sure. She had felt his piercing gaze on her for most of class. It had given her shivers and she hadn't been able to fully relax the whole period. She had been sitting so stiffly in the seat she was sure if someone had nudged her, even the slightest, she might have fallen over like a block of wood.

He was probably staring at her because he wanted to talk to her about the project, she assumed. Why else would he take an interest in her after so many years of pretending she didn't exist?

Speaking of the devil, Kaiba strode out of the classroom, almost passing her until she reached out to catch the arm of his sleeve stopping him. His head snapped around to glare at whoever had dared try to touch him, but when he saw the petite girl his mouth slid into an easy smirk.

"Back for round two already Gardner?" his voice was smooth and low, eliciting tingles down her spine.

She let go of his sleeve not realizing she still had a hold of it. A slight blush dusted her cheeks but disappeared as quickly as it had come. She cleared her throat and put on a professional façade so as not to give away how uncomfortable she was with his proximity.

He had her trapped against the wall she had been leaning against while waiting for him and brought his hand up to rest on the wall beside her head, closing her in. She gulped – her mask falling – knowing there was barely three inches between them.

_Oh come on Tea! This is Seto Kaiba here, not some random guy, _she screamed to herself internally. _He's even dressed the same as usual in his uniform, _she noted a little disappointedly. She could have gotten used to the casually sexy Kaiba from the night before. _Nothing new and definitely not something to get worked up about. _

She pressed one of her small hands against his chest to push him to a more appropriate distance, not failing to notice the hard muscles she felt there. "You're in my space Kaiba, and your breath stinks."

His smirk twisted into a frown.

"I wanted to go over living arrangements."

"What's there to go over?" he asked pulling further away from her and crossing his arms over his chest. "You'll be staying in the Kaiba Manor of course."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, can't say I didn't see that one coming. God forbid Seto Kaiba staying in a suburb for a week like everyone else who's normal," she ignored the twitch of irritation in his brow, "so what time do you want me to come over tomorrow?"

He stared acidly at her for a moment before reluctantly answering, "Noon." With that he swept around and trudged down the hall to his next class, swiftly ending the conversation.

Tea stared after his form with an amused smile on her lips. Maybe she could have fun with this. He was kind of cute when he was all riled up and angry. Who knows, maybe she could even get a pout out of the sadistic bastard before the week was up. The thought made her smile as she turned in the opposite direction towards her own class.

* * *

Tea stared around her kitchen blankly as she rested on her elbows against the granite counter-tops. It took all of her will power not to cry out and whine about how bored she currently was. After school she had changed out of her uniform and proceeded to pack her things for the upcoming week. She wasn't a material person and so she had very little besides clothing to pack thus, it only took up a half hour of her 'eventful' evening.

She sighed haphazardly as she thought about the impending week with Seto Kaiba. Pretending to be _that_ man's wife would be a nightmare. She pulled a face in disgust. Her thoughts turned to their encounter in the school hall earlier that day. She blushed as she remembered how close their torsos had come to touching each other. His muscles had been hard and sinewy under her hand as she had pushed him away. With a sick kind of attraction she realized she would have liked to pull him closer, to feel those muscles against her…

_Dong!_

The sound startled Tea from her embarrassingly lewd thoughts and she blushed a shade of unattractive red. Rising up from her slump she padded towards the door.

As she opened the door Joey smashed through the entrance, not bothering to wait for an invitation, and carrying several bags. "Whoo hoo!! Let's get this par-tay started!!" he cried and let out a war whoop.

Tristan followed closely behind the blond carrying a couple bags of his own and the two disappeared down the hall towards her living room.

Tea watched the two, completely flummoxed as to what was going on. She turned to the last remaining occupant who had politely waited on the doorstep to be invited in.

"Hi, Tea," Yugi waggled his fingers at the girl in greeting, "We thought that since it was your last night here, we'd send you off with some _fun." _He held up a three-quarters of the way full bottle of tequila, an impish grin on his features.

_Well now I know why Joey and Tristan are so giddy, _she thought wryly as she stepped back to let her best friend enter.

He did so jovially and slipped his shoes off.

Tea cautiously followed him as he led the way to Joey and Tristan who undoubtedly had already broken something or another in her house. Neither of them was very tolerant of alcohol and they had a tendency to be clumsy when impaired.

They found the two chugging beers heartily as they lounged on the big red sofa that occupied a good portion of the room. The stereo system had been turned up high and the thrumming base of the song playing resonated throughout the house.

"C'mon Tea," Joey slurred with a lopsided grin on his face. Tea rolled her eyes, it was only ten and he was already smashed, "Come join the fuuuun." He drew out the last word as though it was the punch line of some hilariously funny joke. Tristan turned to look at him and they both fell over in a lapse of giggles.

"Oh-boy," Tea sighed as Yugi and herself observed the drunken pair. They were in for a long, long night, "You'd better give me some of that, Yugi, if I'm going to catch up." She held her had out for the bottle he grasped.

Yugi grinned enthusiastically as he handed the booze over. "Okay, but I need you sober enough to play beer pong with me later. I want you on my team so we can win." He grinned wickedly and Tea smirked.

"Don't worry," she grabbed one of the plastic cups from the bags Joey and Tristan had brought in and began pouring the tequila, "I doubt we'll have trouble beating those light-weights."

Yugi chuckled softly and took the cup she held out to him.

_This will keep my mind off of a certain Kaiba for the time being,_ she thought gratefully as she mumbled a quick cheers and downed the shot in unison with Yugi. The liquid burned her throat on the way down and tasted like ass, but the numbing feeling it brought on she welcomed warmly. She glanced at Yugi whose cheeks were tinted a slight pink colour. "So, how's about that beer pong?" she asked smiling jauntily.

* * *

The woman before him was young. Possibly in her mid-twenties he guessed. Her shoulder-length blond hair was styled so that it fell in soft waves framing her face. A cream headband kept it from falling out of place. Her purple collared shirt fit her snugly and just covered the waistband of her knee-length grey skirt. All in all she was a very lovely specimen, but Seto was concentrating more on drowning out her voice then her physical appearance.

Good God, he'd said he'd wanted a _brief_ report, not a novel. He'd successfully toned her soft voice to a dull buzz as his mind wandered away from the business's paperwork, and progress in England.

The Gardner girl would be arriving at noon the next day. He wasn't going to lie and say that their meeting in the hall that afternoon hadn't irked him. He hadn't expected her to push him away. She should have melted into a puddle before him like the rest of his female staff did when he got too close. She was a walking puzzlement to him, and part of him found it amusing yet irritating at the same time. He'd always liked a challenge.

As Sarah's report continued, his mind drifted from their encounter to the prospect of spending the next week pretending to be married to the girl. He found himself strangely excited where as the day before he had been dismissive. Gardner had certainly captured the Chief Executive Officer's interest, the question was could she hold it for long? Seto's mind could be compared to a hummingbird in flight. His interest in one thing could never be held for long as he flitted about from one thing to another. What bugged him was that his interest had never strayed to a woman before. It was perplexing yet maddeningly thrilling as well.

"Mr. Kaiba, sir?"

Sarah's low voice brought him to the surface of his thoughts and he blinked at her, drawing a blank as to what she had been saying.

The blond woman fidgeted nervously knowing she had lost his attention some time ago. "Sir-"

"Yes very good," Seto interrupted her, pretending that he had heard her report, "that's all for tonight. You may go home now."

Sarah bowed politely and turned to leave his office.

Once she was safely out the door he allowed himself to relax into his leather chair. Rubbing at his eyes tiredly he let his gaze travel around the room lazily. _I suppose I should make sure Mokuba got to bed._ He hauled his exhausted body from his seat and towards his office door. Last he had seen the ebony-haired boy was after dinner. Mokuba had been working on homework in the parlour. His feet obediently took him there.

When he entered the room his usually cold, hard eyes softened. Mokuba lay sprawled upon the coffee table at the centre of the room. His long, ebony locks spayed across his work, a complete contrast from the white paper beneath him. With two quick strides, Seto crossed the room and swiftly scooped his little brother into his arms. Mokuba stirred and mumbled something incoherent, but his face was peaceful and he slept on. Handling him gingerly, Seto left the parlour and proceeded to carry the boy up to his room. _What is he thinking? He'll catch a cold falling asleep there,_ he thought absently. He pushed Mokuba's bedroom door open with his foot and brought him over to the bed. Laying him down gently, the brunette pulled the navy blue covers over the youth's slim form. He watched his brother quietly for a moment, then bent and placed his hand softly upon his brother's cheek.

"May your dreams be pleasant, little brother."

With that he exited the bedroom making sure to shut the door quietly behind him. He leaned against Mokuba's closed door and rubbed his eyes again. _That kid's grown so fast…_ He unconsciously reached for the duel card pendant that hung ever presently around his neck. Looking down at the object he opened it. There was Mokuba. He was two years older now, and boy, had that kid ever changed. It was like he'd woken up one morning and suddenly his kid brother was only a foot shorter than himself instead of three. Seto smiled wryly, shutting the pendent. Glancing at his watch he cursed. It was already well past one in the morning and he had to be semi-presentable for later when Gardner arrived. Sighing wearily he strode down the hall to his own room, looking as heavy as the weight he felt on his shoulders every day; the weight that came with being a CEO of one of the most profitable companies in the world and the guardian and caretaker of a thirteen-year old boy all at once.

* * *

Yugi slumped into a sitting position on the floor. He seemed to be the only one who was still semi-aware of what was going on around him.

The four of them had managed to get though the entire bottle of tequila and the two six packs of beer Joey had brought. Said blond had been trying to arm wrestle Tristan not long ago and now had the brunette boy in a headlock having decided that the reason he kept loosing was that Tristan must be cheating. Tea had taken to dancing drunkenly around the room and was currently on top of the coffee table in front of the red couch. Being a dancer she was really flexible and was kicking her legs up high into the air. Yugi blushed and had to look away. She was wearing a skirt – one of her favourite types of clothing to wear – and had just given him an eyeful of her underwear. _I thought she'd gotten rid of the frog underwear…_ he thought. His thoughts were fuzzy and he could only just remember that time when Joey had raided Tea's panty drawer with Tristan and paraded the garments on his head at school the next day. They both had picked the most girly pair they could find: white with little froggies jumping over lily pads here and there.

There was a loud thump and Yugi turned back to the two 'wrestlers'. They were gone. He shakily stood up and made his way to the red couch they had been wrestling behind, dodging Tea's foot-kicking on the way. He stumbled and landed with a flump on the couch. Peering over the back he found the source of the sound. Joey and Tristan had collapsed onto the floor, both were passed out. _Oh well, _he thought.

The couch dipped as Tea's weight sank into it beside him. _Well at least she's got her legs together…_

"Yugi, I think I might be drunk," she slurred. He looked at her shrewdly and she started giggling. Her head came down to lean against his shoulder and she burped, then began to giggle again, "S'cuse me." He waited for her laughter to die down. When it did she began to snore lightly. He chuckled at her and leaned his head against her own, joining her in slumber.

* * *

A/N *laughs* I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. It was fun to get them all drunk =P. I also liked writing Seto's part. He's going through that moment all parents have to when they know their child has grown up. It's kinda cute =P.

PS I will be posting the picture I drew for this chapter on my profile soon. Be sure to check it out!! Until next time,

~LithiumFlower

Preview for Chapter 3: Saturday: Commencement

Tea finds herself lost in a labyrinth of walls with a great many doors.

What will she find behind door number one... a sleeping babe?

Behind door number two…a yummy, sexy half-naked Seto?

Plus, lots o' smexy SetoxTea scenes. =D


	3. Saturday: Commencement

A/N Sorry about the delay of this chapter. I will try to get them out more quickly in the future.

Chapter 3

* * *

_Saturday: Commencement_

_--An act or instance of beginning_

* * *

Seto sat in a dark corner in one of the comfy black chairs that adorned his bedroom. The navy blue walls made the shadows seem darker than actuality. His expression was one of great aggravation as he stared at the object nestled snugly in the chair opposite him. The baby had completely left his consciousness until he had woken up this morning to find the insufferable thing sitting in the chair where he had promptly dumped it yesterday after school.

After the final bell had rung at the end of school Seto had gone back to Mrs. Yamanaka's room, as one of every partner had been instructed, to pick the baby up.

Now, here it sat. He glared at it acidly knowing it was the source of the completely cockamamie project that had forced himself and Gardner together for the week. The baby's wide, black glass eyes stared back emptily at his steel blue ones. They were almost as deadly cold as his. The plastic that made up its body was soft and rubbery unlike the hard, shiny plastic that shaped the baby dolls he would see little girls carrying idly with them on the streets. He supposed this was to make it seem more lifelike and the project real. The gender was obviously female. Someone had had the audacity to dress the thing in a flowery, lacy sundress. He scowled. _If_ he ever had kids and they_ happened_ to be girls he would never dress them in such absurdly ludicrous clothing. He couldn't fathom what made parents want to dress their offspring in such a manner.

His thoughts were interrupted as his bedroom's double doors were thrust open sending a shaft of blinding light into the dark room. Seto hissed as it burned his eyes. Shielding his view with one hand, he squinted at the figure in his doorway. "Mokuba, you'd better have a damn good reason for interrupting me," he growled.

The youth's grey eyes flitted over to the doll opposite his brother and he smirked. "Sorry, I wasn't aware you enjoyed that kind of thing...shall I leave you two to it then?"

Seto looked shrewdly at the boy as the implication behind his brother's crude comment dawned on him. "Don't start with the smart-ass comments Mokuba, today is not a good day to try my patience."

Mokuba crossed the room and flung open the curtains covering the huge windows. As sunlight poured into the room he turned and smiled cheekily at his slump of a brother in the chair. "Would that have anything to do with the fact Tea will be coming to live with us today. You did seem pretty interested in her assets last time we-"

"Mokuba!" Seto ground out as his patience began to wear thin. Since when had the little brat become so perceptive? "What do you want anyways?"

Mokuba crossed the room once more and opened the large walk-in closet doors disappearing into their depths. His voice came out muffled, "Well it's already eleven o'clock. I know Tea's supposed to be here in an hour and knowing you, I figured that you'd probably be either brooding or," he came out of the closet carrying a bundle of clothes and tossed them onto the king sized bed, "day-dreaming about Tea's ass."

Seto groaned. He had not realized the time...and he still needed to shower. "Don't talk about that insufferable woman. I don't want to deal with her until I absolutely have to." He would not admit that Mokuba was right on both counts. While brooding over the baby before him he had occasionally let his mind wander back to her rear in those shorts...how delectably wonderful they had looked...

Shaking his head he heaved himself out of the black chair and made his way to the adjoined bathroom.

Mokuba watched him in amusement. His brother hadn't denied that he had been thinking about Tea. Smirking as he heard the water in the shower turn on, he left the room wondering what the week would bring.

* * *

She could hear a distant steady rumble. _Probably Joey..._ she thought. As she cracked one eye open to peer at her surroundings she affirmed her suspicion. Joey lay in a heap on the floor; his head resting on Tristan's left leg while his arms spread out in some sort of gymnast position around him. His mouth hung open widely and his snore resonated throughout the room. It reminded her of an elephant drowning. Tristan's snores were right up there with Joey's, only they were more of a high pitched humming sound unlike the blonde's grunting.

She closed her eyes again trying to shut out the noise. She was surprisingly warm and comfortable. When her friends came over she usually woke up in some uncomfortable position on the floor. One time it was the counter. She cracked her eyes open again to find the source of her comfort. Yugi lay beneath her, his head resting on one of the red pillows from the couch while his arms were wrapped around her. Tea's eyes widened in shock. _Oh God, we cannot wake up like this! _She thought panicked. Moving carefully, she wormed her way out of his hold. Putting some distance between them she sighed in relief. Yugi would have been mortified had he woken up first to see her sprawled atop him like some sort of koala-cat. He was an incredibly shy boy and saving him the embarrassment would be best for the both of them. Plus, if Joey and Tristan had seen they would never have heard the end of it.

Sighing, she ran a hand through her mussed hair and tried to recall the events of last night. She remembered sitting on the couch with Yugi. They must have fallen asleep not long after that. Glancing up at the clock she read the time. _11:45. Did I have something going on today?_

_..._

_Shit! _

_I'm supposed to be at Kaiba's in fifteen minutes!_ She stood up and cursed as pain split through her head. What had she been thinking drinking that much last night?

Yugi stirred at her outcry and opened his eyes blearily to look up at her. "Somethin' wrong Tea?"

"Yes, I have to be at Kaiba's in a quarter of an hour!" she tried to move quickly as she darted around the coffee table but ended up kicking Joey in the side.

The boy grunted in pain as he woke up. "Ow! What kinda wake-up call was dat!?" he yelled as Tea scurried to her room.

She poked her head out the door to call back, "I'm going to be late. I still need to shower. You guys have to clean up before you leave!" She slammed the door shut and they heard a few more bumps, and some cursing before the sound of water hitting ceramic tiles.

Tristan, having woken up at Tea's shouting, groaned and lay back down to sleep again.

Tea tried to hurry through her usual shower routine. When she finished she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower to wrap a towel around herself. Slipping a little on the floor she ran into her room to pick the phone up dial a taxi cab. While she talked she rushed over to her dresser grabbing the first garments she lay her hands on and tried to put them on while still holding the phone. Thanking the man on the other line, she hung up straightened her outfit. After flinging the towel into the bathroom and tying her hair up into a messy bun, she grabbed the duffle bag she'd packed the night before and left her room.

She wasn't surprised to see that her friends had fallen asleep again. Smiling slightly at the relaxed expressions on their faces she set her duffle onto the counter of the kitchen and went to the notepad by the phone. She scrawled a quick note to Yugi, who she was sure would be the first to find it, leaving instructions to help themselves to whatever breakfast they could find and clean up before they left. Knowing she had a couple minutes before the taxi arrive, Tea went over to the fridge and pulled out a yogurt. She watched her friends as they slept while she ate. Even though it may not have been smart, she was glad they had come over. It had taken off the edge she had been feeling over this project. She now felt calm, and un-intimidated at the prospect of living with Kaiba for the week. Well, not completely at ease but was close as she was going to get. Finishing, she threw the plastic cup into the garbage and went to brush her teeth. A muffled honking alerted her to her taxi's arrival and she grabbed her duffle and green cotton jacket before heading outside.

The taxi driver smelt unpleasantly like too much aftershave and had a gruff sounding voice as he asked for her destination. When she answered he grunted in amusement and grumbled something along the lines of Kaiba being too rich for a teenager. Personally Tea agreed with the driver. Running a company single-handedly at Kaiba's age was an impressive feat.

As her thoughts turned to the steely CEO her expression turned pensive. She remembered the electricity between them in the hall the day before. She would be a fool to deny there was some physical chemistry going on there. _Well he just looked so damn good that night at the bowling alley, _she thought. _And his voice! _Oh yes, how she remembered the way his voice had flowed so smooth and deeply while he spoke to her. It was like melted chocolate slipping over velvet. Her cheeks burned at the memory.

_Okay, time for a subject change._ Having Mokuba around constantly would be some reprieve from the cold-hearted, deliciously yummy elder Kaiba..._and we're back to him..._ she mentally scolded herself. It was becoming an issue this thinking of Kaiba all the time.

The sound of tires on gravel brought Tea back to the present. _That wasn't long._ The taxi pulled slowly up to a set of black iron gates. The driver rolled his window down and the communication box to the left of the gate crackled to life.

"_State your business."_

The voice was male as far as she knew. It sounded smooth and aristocratic. Like an English butler of some kind. Tea fought back a snicker. It was exactly the kind of grandiloquent style she'd expected from Kaiba. _Butler's imported from Britain, _she thought exasperatedly, _how quaint. _She noticed the driver looking expectantly at her for an answer to the box's question.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Tea Gardner. I'm here for a school project."

The driver repeated the information to the box.

"_Okay, drive on,"_ the speaker crackled.

The great, iron gate creaked slowly open and the taxi pulled into the large driveway. Tea couldn't help but gape at the expanse that was the house. It was monstrous. Ginormous. Humongous.

When the cab came to a stop she could barely bring herself to open the door and climb out. How incredibly small a house this size could make a person feel. Like most of the houses in this area of Domino, this mansion was Western-styled. It had an eighteenth century state manor feel to it which reminded her of her Western history classes with Mr. Okayama. She fumbled for some money to pay the driver with and went to open the door only to find it already open. One of the servants, she presumed, had opened the door for her and was now holding out a hand to help her out. _Jeez, it's not like I'm incapable of getting out of a car by myself_, she thought wryly, but accepted the help anyway. Another servant had grabbed her duffle out of the trunk for her.

"Mr. Kaiba awaits you in the lobby ma'am," the one who had given her a hand said.

"The lobby," she gave the man-servant a droll look, "Gee, is there a tea room too? And a sun-room? Oh, wait, what about a game room?"

The man looked uncomfortable, "I'm sure after a tour you will be able to find those rooms with no trouble, Miss Gardner."

Tea's mouth dropped comically. _I was just kidding. Does he really have one of all those rooms?_ Shaking her head she followed the man into the house. Her mouth, if possible, fell open wider as she gaped at the splendour around her. The walls and columns that lined the lobby were all made of white marble and the sun gleamed against their polished surface. A large burgundy rug covered most of the floor. _That's some welcome mat..._ A slight cough brought her attention away from the extravagance of the room.

Kaiba stood, leaning against the railway of a grand staircase that she assumed lead to the bedrooms on the upper floor. He smirked at the obvious awe on her face.

"Mr. Kaiba, sir," the man who had showed Tea in bowed politely to his employer, "Shall I take Miss Gardner's things to her temporary bedroom?"

Kaiba's eyes lost their humour momentarily as he addressed the man, "Well it would seem like the obvious thing to do wouldn't it?" he said coldly.

Tea frowned at the tone he used with his employees, but the man merely bowed a second time before grabbing her duffle and heading up the stairs with it.

Kaiba turned his gaze back to her, "So what do you think of my house?" his smirk returned.

_Hah! And he calls this thing a house._ "Well it's certainly no bivouac now is it?" she said sarcastically.

His eyes glimmered with cold amusement at her comment. "Why, thank-you."

"You know," she said, her eyes turning sharp, "just because you think you're God and everyone is beneath you doesn't give you the right to be a complete ass-wipe and treat your employees like that." She gestured in the direction the man carrying her bag had gone.

He frowned and glared at her acidly, "I'll thank you not to comment on how I run my household," he said softly; dangerously, "besides, isn't that the point of being God?" his expression turned sardonic as he asked the question.

Tea watched him wearily where he stood on the steps. Her gaze softened slightly as several thoughts went passed through her mind at his statement. "I think it would be rather lonely," she whispered softly.

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "Please, enlighten me as to how that completely naive thought could have possibly crossed your pathetic mind."

The brief moment of compassion that had filled Tea left her as quickly as it had come at his insult. "Fuck you Kaiba." she seethed, "You can forget I said anything at all. I wouldn't expect a frigid, unfeeling asshole like you even begin to understand the inner workings of my mind."

Kaiba chuckled coldly. "I don't think there is a person alive who could understand that sickeningly friendship-worshipping mind of yours Gardner."

Tea could feel her face burning with rage. Who did this jerk-off think he was anyways? She had only been thinking about how lonely it would be keeping everyone at a distance and assuming the role of a complete bastard all the time.

"Tea!"

Tea barely had time to prepare herself for Mokuba's pounce.

Mokuba looked up at her with sparkling grey eyes. "You're finally here!" the boy exclaimed happily. "I've been waiting all morning to give you a tour…Tea are you okay? Your face is purple…" Mokuba looked quickly between his brother – who had at some point come down the steps and was standing at the bottom of the staircase – and the brunette girl in his arms, and seeing their expressions got his answer. "Ah Tea, did Seto say something mean to you again?" he asked in a very loud stage-whisper so that Kaiba could hear him.

Tea schooled her expression into a cool, calm façade. "No. It was nothing worth mentioning," she said casually and turned to smile at the younger boy, "So, you were saying something about a tour Mokuba?"

Mokuba grinned and took Tea's hand into his own. "Sure thing!"

As Tea let herself be dragged along by the younger Kaiba she threw over her shoulder, "Don't forget to be there for the baby when it 'wakes up' Daddy K." And with that she disappeared out of the room with Mokuba.

* * *

As if on cue, a wailing cream filled the air and Seto cursed mentally. On the outside, the only clue to his agitation was the slight twitch of his brow in annoyance. Seto had trained himself long ago not to show any of the emotions people around him could use to their advantage. Manipulation was one thing he was a master of avoiding. It came with the job description. Along with not letting anyone get close to him. The thought of a co-worker, or even a servant getting close in a purely platonic, friendship-like way was enough to make him shudder. In his frame of mind, it was better to have them fear you rather than suffer a betrayal – even if it was the slightest – any day. Which brought him back to Gardner's comment during their argument. She had come frighteningly close to discovering his true feelings. The feelings he always kept buried inside himself. It unnerved him that she seemed to have figured him out after such little contact.

Seto began to ascend the stairs hoping to quell the noise by slapping the 'child' around awhile, his mind still on the argument between himself and Gardner. He knew he should be miffed about the sudden invasion of his personal mindset, but he couldn't bring himself to be too angry with the girl. After all, she was so sexy when she got all flushed and angry. In fact, Seto was so beguiled by her anger that he decided throwing one or two insults at the fiery brunette upon each meeting would be a most excellent way to spend the week.

He smirked at the thought as he entered his bedchambers where he had theft that god-damned awful doll. The wailing's volume pitched even higher as the barrier of a closed door was removed. Fury consuming all his thoughts in that moment, Seto crossed to room stiffly to wrench the doll from the chair. Just as he raised his arm to lob the infernal creation across the room, the noise stopped. Seto blinked dumbfounded at the thing. Was that really it? It just wanted to be held? Ice-blue eyes softened for a split second. _This will not be unlike taking care of Mokuba when he was an infant_, Seto though. Deciding that the thing could live as long as it kept quiet, Seto cradled the baby into the crook of his left arm and swept out of his room to his study. He still, after all, was a CEO of a multi-billion dollar company and had things to do, papers to sign, and employees to fire – which he would if any of them dared mention the tender way he carried the child in his arms. He set a mess-with-me-and-you-can-kiss-your-career-goodbye expression upon his face and went to work.

* * *

Tea could not focus on the continuous fountain of information that kept flowing from Mokuba's mouth as he led her through the labyrinth that was the Kaiba's manor. She had stopped counting left and rights when trying began to make her head spin. She truly appreciated what Mokuba was doing for her, but there was just _so much_ in this god-damned place. In truth, she was also still annoyed by her previous encounter with Kaiba and couldn't concentrate on anything fully.

The man was just so cold. It made her wonder who had shoved the unusually large icicle up his ass anyway.

"Tea?"

The brunette started out of her thoughts to turn to the boy.

"Sorry Mokuba, What were you saying?"

Mokuba smiled warmly. "I was wondering if you wanted me to show you to your room now? It's almost time for dinner and I'm sure you want to unpack before eating."

"Geez, is it really that late already?" Tea thought aloud, looking around the room for a clock. She must have been here for several hours for it to be that late. _My how the time flies when a certain asshole is on the brain…_she thought whimsically.

"Yup," Mokuba answered glancing at his own watch, "Dinner will be served in the dining room in just under an hour. Would you like me to take you to your room?"

She nodded and followed him through several hallways until they came to the staircase in the entryway again. Leading her up them and around a corner, Mokuba came to a stop before a door.

"Here you are," he said cheerfully.

Tea bowed her thanks and closed herself into her room. Sighing a breath of relief, she allowed herself a moment to gather her thoughts and surroundings.

So this would be her 'residence' for the next week. The place was certainly extravagant. Definitely not something she was used to. The whole room consisted of pale, creamy colours and was luxuriously decorated. Very over the top, she thought, with heavy drapes covering the massive bay windows and several unnecessary cushions adorning the bed and chairs on either side. She noticed her rather plain looking duffle at the foot of the bed and sighed heavily.

Deciding to leave unpacking for later, Tea crossed the room to look out the large windows. She gathered from the view of the backyard and the Olympic-sized swimming pool in it that her room was on the far side of the house, facing the back of the property. At least Kaiba hadn't given her the room with the view of the garbage disposal at the side of the house - although, she wouldn't put it past his character to pull such an unwarranted act.

She glanced over at the kind-sized bed in the centre of her room. _May as well test the waters…_She took a running leap at the bed and was consumed by the softest fabrics she'd ever felt. The whole bed seemed to swallow her as she became lost in a sea of blankets and pillows. Letting out a childish sound of glee, Tea spread her arms wide and stretched her body out over as much surface of the bed as she could cover. A wide smile graced her features as she enjoyed her first taste of lavish living. _Maybe my week here won't be as bad as I'm expecting…_she thought sleepily as drowsiness began to overtake her,_ then again, that could be wishful thinking…_

* * *

Tea awoke with a start at a smart rapping noise. She groggily looked at her surroundings trying to piece together where she was.

_Oh, right….the bastard's 'house'…_

Realizing that the noise was a knock on the door of her bedroom she dragged her body out and off of the small piece of heaven she had found in this hell house.

"Comin'" she mumbled sleepily. Upon opening the door she saw the same smartly dressed man who had led her to the house and brought her duffle to her room earlier.

The butler looked surprised by her dishevelled appearance but regained his composure with a small cough. "Miss Gardner, are you ready for supper in the west dining room?" he asked, his thick British accent clear though he spoke perfect Japanese.

"Uh…." Tea stared dumbfounded at the man, "I fell asleep," she finished lamely. She tried to straighten what she knew must be fly-away hair with her fingers, slipping into a panicked state. A slight chuckle from Kaiba's manservant made her stop her hurried attempt to make herself presentable and her face turned a slight crimson in embarrassment. "Um, should I change?" She asked, unsure of what the usual dining attire was in this household. The last thing she wanted to do was tick off Kaiba with her wardrobe and have him nag her about it the entire week.

He gave her a once over and shook his head. "Miss Gardner, I believe you apparel suits the occasion just fine," he said warmly.

Tea sighed in relief. Running to the mirror that hung above the bureau she straightened her hair and clothes quickly then returned and joined the man in the hall. _The man…that's awkward…_ "Um, what shall I call you by?" she asked him quizzically as he began to lead her through the empty halls.

"Excuse me?" He stopped, looking slightly shocked. Like he had never before been asked his name. Recovering he continued to walk towards what she assumed was an exit to the never ending halls. "You may call me Butler if you wish."

She looked thoughtful. "Just Butler?"

He turned slightly so she could see the smile he had on his face. It was a lovely smile, she thought. Full of crinkles around the eyes and mouth; full of warmth. "Just Butler," he confirmed.

Tea smiled. She liked this man.

They continued to walk, nothing particularly catching Tea's eye until the came to one door that was open unlike all the rest. Light flooded out onto the floor where the door was cracked open – barely enough for her slim body to fit through. Butler did not slow to enter, but kept moving right past the open door. Curiosity ate at her and she slowed so that she could peek through the slight crack. What she saw nearly made her heart stop.

Kaiba sat in a soft pool of light at a large wooden desk with papers covering every surface. His right hand was moving swiftly across papers, his eyes down cast and serious. It was not that fact that the man looked entirely too delectable sitting in that light setting that had her so worked up, but rather the baby he seemed to hold so tenderly in the crook of his arm._ Their_ baby. Her eyes softened and her heart warmed at the unusual sight before her. She would have never pegged Kaiba to act like this. It made her heart do a funny twang in her chest. _Funny twangs can't be good for my health…_

Not wanting to disturb the peaceful scene, Tea tiptoed quietly away from the door and jogged to catch up with Butler. Hopefully he hadn't noticed her pause.

"Master Kaiba is not always as cold as he seems," the butler said so softly she almost missed it.

_Shit out of luck on my part. _

Tea collapsed onto her bed, exhausted.

Dinner had been…awkward, to say the least. Butler had led her to a large spacious room decorated all in dark, earthy colours. A large table that could have seated at least thirty people stood solidly in the centre of the room. Mokuba sat at its far end on the left hand side of the head. His grin stretched widely across his face when she entered.

"Hey, Tea!" he greeted her happily.

Tea returned his smile and sat across from the boy when Butler pulled the chair out for her. They had sat in silence for only a moment before Kaiba came striding into the room. The first thought that ran through Tea's mind was how nicely the jeans he wore hugged his thighs and rear. A light blush began to dust her features and she tried to clear her thoughts. "Where is the baby?" She asked, trying to make her voice sound accusatory. It came out as more as a soft hum which resulted in Kaiba giving her a strange look.

"Asleep," he answered all traces of emotion gone. It was then that he tossed a little speaker at her which she caught with both hands in surprise. Turning it over she realized it was a baby monitor. "You get it for the rest of the night. It is in a spare room. I'll have a servant show you the way to get it after the meal." He sat down to her left and raised a hand signalling the waiters to begin serving.

Tea, who was expecting a ludicrously large five course meal – since she would expect nothing less from Kaiba –, was pleasantly surprised to find the main course served first. The dinner was still fancy though – a stuffed chicken with asparagus and some sort of herb looking thing. It was not the traditional Japanese dinner she was used to.

Nothing was said throughout the remainder of the meal. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Tea sighed wearily; glad the day had come to an end. She glanced over at the baby sitting in its carrier. She had placed it strategically in one of the chairs beside her bed so that if it woke up she would hear it. Deciding it was safe to risk a quick trip to the bathroom; she rolled out of bed and padded her way across the carpet to the door. As she wandered through the halls trying to remember which door led to the bathroom she pondered over the writing assignment she and Kaiba would be writing together. She supposed she should write the first entry when she got back to her room – God knows Kaiba probably wouldn't write a single sentence of this paper and Tea would end up writing it alone. _Ugh, I'm so tired. Maybe I'll leave the first entry and write it tomorrow morning. _Yawning, she entered the room she vaguely remembered Mokuba pointing out when he had led her to her room earlier.

In her lethargic state she did not notice the steam that seemed to fill the whole room. She made her way to the porcelain sink and turned the faucet on to wash her face. It was only when she looked up at the mirror and noticed that the cloudiness of it was preventing her from seeing her reflection that she froze. Without turning the water off she slowly turned gasping.

Kaiba stood before her with nothing but a pair of jeans on. He had a towel near his hair which she realized he must have been drying upon her entry. Her gaze travelled along his body and she realized his upper half was still wet from his recent shower. Her eyes followed a drop of water that had been clinging to the hair at the nape of his neck and had dripped down. It rolled down his collar bone, and abs – which were a perfect six-pack, she noted – and disappeared into his…._oh sweet mercy…it's a good thing he has pants on…or is it?_ Damn he was fine.

Tea felt her body heat up in a way she had never experienced before. The heat seemed to pool largely in her lower belly.

Kaiba coughed and it was then Tea realized she had been staring at his nether regions for some time. She blushed and brought her eye level up to his face…which looked kind of pissed now that she saw it.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" he asked coldly. The temperature of his cool comment made the room feel a few degrees colder and Tea shivered.

"Um…Uh-" She stumbled over her words, not knowing quite what to say after she had just ogled him, "Well you see, I had to use the bathroom…and I, uh, didn't realize you were in here…" she trailed off as his look grew more venomous.

"I think that you should leave."

_Damn, I think I just got frostbite!_ Tea was just turning to leave when her anger set in. How dare he take that tone of voice with her! Facing him once more, she set her face in a glare. "Seriously, what kind of person doesn't lock the door when the go for a shower anyways?" she asked seething.

"The kind who aren't accustomed to having nosey, do-gooders reside in their household," Kaiba shot back just as angry.

Tea's blood boiled. All traces of arousal were forgotten. "Well sorry to have barged in on your scared ritual of towel-drying. I'm sure that even if you had been naked there would not have been much to see anyways." With that insult to his manhood, she swivelled around to storm out of the bathroom. She managed to get halfway to the door when something hard spun her around and pinned her to the wall.

Kaiba towered over her small frame, his eyes blazing in a mix of anger and…lust? The sudden heat she had felt earlier came rushing back full force. Her head span as she caught the musty, spicy, purely male scent that radiated from him. It filled her with desire and she wanted to wrap her arms around him, bring him closer and bury her nose into his skin so that the scent could completely envelop her. She nearly passed out when he brought his face alarmingly close to her own, his lips nearly brushing her ear. Her whole body became hyper-aware of his presence and her skin tingled as though electric currents were running over the parts of her he was close to. She trembled. His breath was heavy and hot against her ear as he spoke.

"I assure you I am not lacking in that department."

_Oh I'll bet…_

When he pulled away from her she slipped to the floor in a pool of jelly. Her head was swimming. It was only when she heard a slight chuckle from him that she dared to look up at him.

An amusing grin lit his features. "Look at you," he said smirking, "you're a puddle on my and I haven't done anything but come close to you."

Tea saw red.

"Fuck you and your arrogance!" she retorted. "Like you weren't just as turned on. You were breathing so heavily I nearly fell over from your puffing." She smirked as his grin turned upside-down. "Just admit it; I affect you the same way."

Kaiba snorted. "If it came down to it, I could have you melting into unconsciousness with only a look."

Tea's eyes blazed. "Are you implying that if we were to turn this into a…say, a game or challenge that you could beat me hands down?" she asked.

Kaiba pulled himself up to his full height. "That would be a definite outcome" he promised.

She grinned eagerly. "Then we need to set rules and a bet because I'm not going to back down to a challenge like that."

"Whoever is on the loosing side of the bet at the end of each day writes the entry to the diary report."

_Well, looks like I won't be writing the whole thing as I thought…_

"Deal." Tea agreed. "Rules, anything goes, but no sex."

Kaiba quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm not lowering my standards by letting you have me." She said simply.

"Likewise," he said coolly, "also, Mokuba must not find out about this."

"Agreed." Tea nodded.

They stood facing each other, not quite sure what else to say.

"I think," Kaiba started, "that you should write the paper for tonight."

Tea opened her mouth to protest but Kaiba stopped her.

"May I remind you that you were nothing but a gelatine substance a mere five minutes ago?"

Her chest deflated as she realized he was right. "Fine." She turned on her heel and went to the door. Before exiting she turned to him once more, "Tomorrow I will reduce you to nothing more than a limp noodle on the floor Seto Kaiba. Do _not_ underestimate me!" She slammed the door behind her.

* * *

A/N Voila! Hope you enjoyed.

A sketch of the yummy Seto will be up on my profile soon, so check it out if you get the chance. =)

~LithiumFlower

Preview for Chapter 4: Sunday: Venture

Mokuba decides it's time to take a dip in the pool.

This means Seto in a bathing suit…

And water-slick skin….

Oh the joys…. ^_^


	4. Sunday: Venture

Chapter 4

_Sunday: Venture_

_-- An undertaking involving uncertainty as to the outcome (especially a risky or dangerous one)_

* * *

Seto was in a state of shock. On the outside he was the picture of calm, but there could be no other way to describe the feeling that threatened to erupt from inside him.

And what, you may ask, was the source of his shock?

_Tea Gardner…did I actually agree to partake in something as scandalous as a seduction game with her?!_

Sure, at the time it had sounded like a good idea to accept the challenge Gardner had proposed, but now Seto wasn't so sure. Never in his life had he ever participated in seduction or being seduced. Sure he understood the logistics and direction of sex and foreplay, but he had never actually _done_ anything before. Fuck, he hadn't even had his first real kiss yet. Not that trivial things such as that ever questioned his knowledge of who and what he was in this world.

_I am in so much shit…_

He scolded himself mentally as he lay still in bed. His room was still in a state of semi-darkness as the sun crept through the windows, slowly signalling the beginning of a new day. He didn't have time to play silly, adolescent games such as this. There was still that infuriating company party to plan that he hadn't made any progress with, and being the perfectionist he was there was no way he could just pass off the planning to a professional party planner – because no matter how professional they claim to be, he could always find fault in their work – so the job was better left to him.

Groaning, Seto hauled himself out of bed. He needed to get work done this morning. It seemed even the smartest of the employees he hired could screw up the simplest things. How his company could ever survive without him he would never know. He moved to go to his closet when he saw a bundle of clothing at the end of his bed. A note lay atop it.

_Seto,_

_Wear this…Please!! You look too stiff in the suits you usually wear. _

_It's spring break, wear something casual._

_Mokuba_

Seto glanced at the clothes Mokuba had found and fought a grimace. However, there wasn't much he would deny Mokuba these days…that child would be the end of the heartless image he carried. Sighing irritably, he pulled on the clothes and left to brush his teeth in the bathroom down the hall.

It was quiet there. Very unlike the commotion he and Gardner had raised the night before. Seto pulled his toothbrush and paste out of the cabinet hanging beside the mirror. As he began brushing his gaze travelled to the bit of wall he had pinned her against not ten hours ago.

Her eyes had been hazy. They were the most beautiful cerulean colour he had ever seen, so full of warmth and at that moment they had been alive with fire. Her breath had come in short bursts through her parted lips, and in that moment the desire to meet those lips with his own had been overwhelming. His body had been like a live-wire. Every molecule of his being was alive and screaming her name, begging him to touch her.

The floor creaked as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, bringing him out of the memory. To his complete embarrassment, when he looked into the mirror his face was stained red. Angrily spitting the foam from his mouth Seto rinsed his face and strode out of the bathroom. He didn't look at the spot again.

He began to navigate his way through the halls, on his way to the kitchen where he normally ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Seto wasn't a breakfast person. All the food you were supposed to eat in the morning never sat right with him. How were you supposed to go about starting the day when you've eaten so much that your stomach feels like lead bricks weighing you down? Coming up to the kitchen he pushed his way through its swinging door and stopped.

_Who the hell…?_

His eyes widened and he moved behind a cupboard to his left so as not to be seen by the other figure that moved about the room. He felt a bit of a fool for feeling the need to hide and scoffed inwardly at himself. _The great Seto Kaiba, hiding in his own house! _Peaking out he realized the figure was the Gardner girl.

She was holding something tenderly in her arms, and shifting about the room. He began to think she was intoxicated from the way she was moving until he heard the soft hum coming from her. Her voice was lilting, floating through the air like a gentle breeze and it held him entranced. Never had he heard a more beautiful sound – not that he would admit the girl's voice was lovely. Ever. To anyone. He began to see that her movements were not as uncalculated as he had first thought. Her hips swayed rhythmically to the tune he could not place as her feet danced lightly across the room. He vaguely remembered hearing something about her being a dancer of some sort. The large windows that made up one wall of the kitchen let in the orangey light of the rising sun which spilled upon her and made her white, night dress glow. She spun gracefully which brought her front to his view. It was the baby she held so lovingly in her arms. Her song felt like it was meant for the child's ears only, and a sense of intrusion filled Seto. She held a bottle expertly and he realized that she was feeding it.

His chest lurched at the sight – maybe a heart attack? Surely that could be the only reason his body would react like that watching her with a child. The idea of any of the nerd herd being responsible enough to look after an infant made him want to laugh.

_She looks like a mother…_he thought pointedly, and tried to remember his own…

Nothing.

It was always only Mokuba and himself.

Seto clenched his teeth and looked away from the angelic movements of his guest. Damn that girl. She was so confusing and it irritated him to no end. He had always prided himself in reading people and their abilities well, but this girl seemed to be the only exception. He just couldn't figure her out. _I never pegged her to be the mothering type_. _Although, I guess she is always trying to look after that Yugi character and their nerdish friends… Then again it makes sense. I doubt Wheeler could even tie his shoelaces without the help of his friends. _

Coming to that conclusion Seto smirked confidently to himself. And as to the shock he'd felt from seeing Gardner and his body's momentary lapse in otherwise perfect health in response, well…it could simply be explained that he never saw the worth in analyzing her before this moment. She was and always would be just another one of Yugi's monkey troop. Albeit one with a nice ass…

Feeling even surer of himself, Seto slipped away from the kitchen unnoticed and made his way to his office. He would forgo breakfast this morning. He had decided that this seduction game would be easy. Seto Kaiba was never a man to grow emotionally attached to anyone and so there was no fear in loosing to her in that sense. The only thing that could get him into trouble was his unfortunate attraction to her. Lust, he believed it was called. The matter wasn't too concerning as Seto prided himself in being in control of every aspect of his life. His self control was a trait to be admired and such a simple thing as lust could easily be overcome. Plus, the reaction she'd had to him in the bathroom easily confirmed her equal attraction to him and gave him an advantage over her as she was obviously not as in control of her emotions as he.

A wicked smile graced his features as he entered his office. _This will be a piece of cake,_ he thought deviously.

Little could our precious male lead know that lust is an emotion that can fell even the mightiest of men and must be regarded with utmost caution.

* * *

Tea slipped into a long sleeved shirt, shorts and quickly went to her armoire to brush her shoulder-length brown locks. She gazed at her appearance in the mirror with a slight frown. _I wish I had brought just a little more make-up with me…how am I supposed to seduce Kaiba with lip gloss?_ Glancing at her outfit, she deepened her frown. _I should have brought something sexier. I'm so screwed…especially when _he_ can wear just about anything and still look like sex on a stick-_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. The abrupt noise startled the sleeping 'baby' that rested in the car seat on her bed. It began to shriek as Tea scrambled over to it, scooping it into her arms. She rubbed its back and made soft cooing noises as she walked to the door to greet one of the butlers. He looked startled to see the crying infant in her arms.

"Sorry, I guess it doesn't like loud noises…" Tea smiled bleakly at the man and opened the door wider to let him into the room and set a tray of cereal down on her side table. She started swaying her body a little and the baby quieted, her cries turning into a soft whimper and then dying.

The butler smiled warmly at Tea and it was then she realized this was the same man she had defended from Kaiba when she had arrived yesterday. "You are very good at that," he gestured towards the baby in her arms, "Have you had practice Miss Tea?"

"Oh, no, actually I'm an only child," Tea said returning his smile, "I guess it's just instinct. And you don't have to call me Miss Tea all the time. Just Tea is fine with me."

"I'm sorry Miss, but as your assigned personal butler I am required to call you as such. Master Kaiba wouldn't be pleased if I called you by anything other." The man bowed respectfully and prepared to leave.

"I'm sorry but I never got your name," Tea called out, stopping him.

"Wesley, Miss. You may call me Wesley, and I know it is rather inappropriate to say considering my station but, I think you will be a fine mother one day." He smiled at her and the child before slipping out the door.

Tea's face flushed at the complement and she looked down at the now slumbering baby in her arms. Her features softened. It was so tiny. _It's a robot Tea, get a hold of yourself_. She laid the infant gently back into its car seat and went to grab the bowl of cereal Wesley had brought up for her. It's true, she could have grabbed herself a bowl while in the kitchen earlier that morning; the hunger had slipped her mind while she had been feeding the baby. It had woken her early with its screaming and figuring it was probably hungry she had brought it down to the kitchen where the special bottle the robot required to register it had been fed was kept. So relieved that it had finally quieted, Tea had completely forgotten to eat.

She ate the cereal quickly and ran to the bathroom across the hall to brush her teeth, hoping the baby wouldn't wake again while she was gone. She had barely closed her door upon returning when there was another knock, more erratic this time. When she answered Mokuba was grinning at her, his smile wide, wearing nothing but swimming trunks, his hands hidden behind his back.

"Mokuba," she greeted warmly, "Good morning. How did you sleep?"

"Fine thanks," he answered rocking on his feet while glancing around her room. His eyes stopped on the baby and his smile widened, "Good it's asleep. I was wondering, Tea would you go swimming with me while you're not busy?"

Tea laughed lightly at his eagerness. "But it's too cold to go swimming," she argued.

"We have an indoor pool." He countered.

"I have no swim suit," she shot back, the smile in her eyes giving away the fact that she wasn't truly against the idea of swimming. "I didn't think to bring one with me."

"Not a problem," Mokuba grinned wider and brought out the object he had been hiding. Tea blinked a moment then laughed.

"Where on earth did you get that?" she stepped back to let the bouncing preteen into her room.

Mokuba threw the bathing suit he had brought onto her bed then situated himself in one of her armchairs. "I have a picture of you and Yugi and everyone from your duelling days and had one of our maids guess your size and buy it," he said in a rush.

"How clever of you," Tea murmured looking at the bathing suit. _I don't think I've ever worn anything that revealing before…_ She gulped. "Um, I dunno if swimming is such a good idea Mokuba. I am here for a project after all and playing around doesn't exactly fit into parenting. Plus she could wake up while I'm gone."

He dismissed her worries casually with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it Tea. The project is supposed to reflect how you and Seto would raise the baby as if it were actually yours right?"

Tea didn't like where this was going. He had a cheeky grin on his face that could amount to no good. "In a sense…"

"Well if Seto were to actually have a child with you, you guys would leave its care to the nanny when you wanted to go out and play. I had a nanny growing up. It wasn't all bad."

She started to protest again but Mokuba cut her off quickly.

"Look Tea, if you want this project to run as smoothly and realistically as possible then you would leave the child in the care of a nanny for some of the time. We have enough money to afford it so it's not a problem okay?" he smiled cheerfully and got up to pick up the bathing suit and throw it at her. "So let's go swimming okay? I'll take the baby to the nanny and you change. We'll meet at the pool in ten."

With that he grabbed the sleeping baby in its carrier and sped out the door before she could protest again.

Tea let out a tired sigh and glanced at the material he had thrown her again. _Jeez, what a kid, demanding everything and anything and just expecting to get his way…actually he probably has always gotten anything he's ever asked for._ She shook her head and muttered curses and something about rich people as she went to close the door Mokuba had not in his rush to leave. _I guess its okay to wear this thing as long as it's only Mokuba. My parents would have a fit if they ever saw me in this…_

* * *

Mokuba grinned quietly to himself as he headed to Seto's office after dropping off the baby in the nursery room with Roberta.

_When Seto sees Tea in that bathing suit blood is going to flow. _He chuckled at the possibility of his brother getting a nose bleed. _With my help I will have a new sister by the end of this week,_ he though smugly. _Seto won't know what hit him._

* * *

Seto lounged casually on one of the many beach chairs that ran around the outer perimeter of his indoor pool. He had somehow allowed Mokuba to drag him from his office, making excuses about him being to wound up and needing to relax once in awhile. The ebony-haired boy was currently splashing about like a two year old in their olympic sized pool and Seto watched on cautiously. Mokuba rarely ever invited him to go swimming with him knowing that his older brother had no interest in the activity. Every time Mokuba had ever tried to get his brother to come to the pool with him the older boy sat on the edge of the pool, barely putting his feet in. Naturally he was suspicious. _Whatever that monkey's got planned couldn't be too bad. He's just a kid after all…_ Seto reached over to grab the papers he had brought from his office on the glass side table next to his seat. Just as he was about to immerse himself in proposals for some software upgrading the sound of the glass door to the pool opening reached his ears. Thinking it was a maid bringing the lemonade he had asked for earlier he looked up.

_That's not lemonade…_ His mind promptly went blank as the Gardner girl stepped into the room timidly. She had a towel wrapped around her slim form and Seto could see the straps of her bathing suit wrapping up and around her neck. She nervously walked over to the nearest beach chair and shimmied out of the flip flop shoes she wore. Her ultramarine eyes caught sight of Mokuba in the pool and she smiled.

Mokuba, by then, had seen her as well and laughed happily. "Come on in Tea, the water's great!" Seto didn't see the way the boy chanced a quick glance in his direction with cheeky grin on his face as Gardner was now slipping the towel away from her form. He felt a rush of heat flood into his face…and other regions.

The bathing suit was nothing special by any means, but rather simple. Small orange and pink leopard print covered the material and the top came into a halter around her swan like neck. She'd left her brown locks down, and they grazed the top of her pale shoulders. Her skin was ivory pale and her legs long and lean; strong from years of dancing. Seto found himself unnervingly attracted to the slight dip in her toned stomach that was her belly button and wondered what it would be like to taste her.

Seto turned to glare at his brother who had chosen that moment to dip beneath the surface of the water to avoid his brother's gaze. When the dark haired youth came up for air his grey eyes locked with his brothers and the boy gulped.

_You are so dead Mokuba Kaiba!_ Seto screamed silently.

* * *

Tea adjusted the straps of her new bathing suit self consciously. Normally she would wear a one piece when she went swimming. The only time she ever visited Domino's public pool was with her boys and wearing anything other than a one piece was just asking for unwanted attention. Anytime anyone would show the slightest interest, Joey and Tristan would chase them down and bludgeon them with the nearest makeshift weapon. No one could steal their precious 'sister' away. The brunette shook her head at the thought of her testosterone filled friends. It was no wonder she never found anyone decent to start a relationship with.

She started for the edge of the pool where a row of steps submerged themselves into the water. Grasping the hand rail alongside them, she dipped a toe into the clear water, testing the temperature. It was warm. Glancing up to see Mokuba splashing and beckoning her further she took another step deeper into the water. That was when she saw _him_. He had swung his arm to the side of his body putting the papers he had been holding on the table next to him and the movement had caught her attention.

Her whole body froze and she felt her heart skip a beat as fear and shock slammed into her body like a tidal wave. Fear quickly turned to embarrassment as she took in the heated look in his eyes. Her face flushed and she covered her chest with her arms in a vain attempt at minimizing the large amount of uncovered skin she displayed. _Jeez, I didn't expect Kaiba to be here as well…_

"What are you waiting for Tea? Come on in," Mokuba beckoned to her once more.

She turned back to look at the youth splashing before her. _What am I supposed to do!? _All she wanted was to turn around and run for the hills. That, or have the ground swallow her whole. Anything would be better than having Kaiba see her like this. _Or maybe…_ Looking back over to the tall brunette she took in his appearance carefully.

His hair was messy and unkempt, like he had been running his hands through it all morning. The fringe of his bangs hung in his eyes which were still raking over her unabashedly. She blushed at the expression of complete hunger that clouded his features. It was then she noticed he was wearing nothing but swimming trunks and she couldn't help but give him an appreciative once over._ It's gotta be illegal somewhere to look that fine, _she thought, resisting the urge to fan herself. His torso was perfectly toned and the slight ripple of his muscles as he moved to stand made her mouth water.

Her gaze locking with his steel blue one and she smirked as an idea struck her. Lowering her arms from her chest she ran her hands down her tummy and then the sides of her hips, delighting in how his eyes followed the movement eagerly.

Yes, this could definitely work to her advantage.

She had a lot of ground to cover, after all, considering she had lost their challenge the day before. Just the memory of their interaction in the bathroom made her skin hot and gave her motivation to win. _This could be fun,_ she thought as she continued her slow pace into the water, subtly swinging her hips as she went. She would need to be cautious so that Mokuba wouldn't catch on to anything. A small smile graced her lips as she continued her endeavours.

* * *

Seto's eyes were transfixed on the girl before him. Did she even know how alluring she was? He was exercising all his self control just to keep from going to her. As she made her way deeper into the pool she suddenly ducked beneath the water. Seto found himself holding his breath with Gardner, waiting for her to re-emerge. When she did he let his air out through his teeth in a hiss. Her long arms came up and her eyes fixed on his as she smoothed down her wet hair. The aquamarine colour of them seemed to glow as her darkened hair made them more pronounced. Rivulets of water ran down her face, arms and stomach, but it was her face that held his sole attention. The sultry grin she gave him made his knees weak and outrage flooded his entire being as he caught onto her game.

_She's doing this on purpose!_

Well, fine. Two could play at this game. Masking his momentary shock with a look of amusement he moved towards the pool's edge and sat down on the side so that his legs dangled into the water below. He'd made his gate long and leisurely knowing that always caught his female coworkers' attention at the office, and smirked as Gardner took a step back from him, uncertainty crossing her features.

"Hey Mokuba," he called, addressing his younger brother who had been playing with a pool noodle, naively unaware to the battle beginning between the two older teens, "why don't we play that game you're always whining about?"

To his amusement he saw Gardner's shoulders tense.

Mokuba's eyes shone with excitement as he looked at his brother, "You mean you're coming in this time!?" he asked enthusiastically.

"May as well enjoy the convenience of an indoor pool since we have one," he said while slipping into the pool.

Gardner moved back, putting even more space between them. She regarded him cautiously while she talked to the now whooping Mokuba. "What game is it?" she asked tersely.

"Do you know how to play Marco Polo?" the boy asked mischievously.

Seto congratulated himself internally as he saw her throw a glare in his direction. He shrugged and smirked innocently, "Are you really going to deny him this Gardner? He's been wanted to play it for some time now." He began to circle her leisurely, a reminder that he was the predator, not her. He would ultimately arise as champion in this game. Seto always came out on top. In everything. "In fact," he drawled slowing his movements until she was caught between the two Kaiba brothers, "why don't you be it Mokuba, since it's your game." His smile was almost feral as he raked his gaze once more down the girl's profile. She scowled at him in response.

Mokuba's shout of glee echoed in background, both Seto and the brunette girl deaf to his excitement as they were solely focused on each other.

_Play with fire and you'll get burned. Run little Gardner, run. This is one game you're not going to arise from unscathed. _

* * *

"Okay, I'm closing my eyes now!" Mokuba chirped behind her. Tea turned to smile weakly at the boy. As soon as his eyes slid shut, the game was on. Turning to her opponent she couldn't help but feel a wave of thrill and fear course through her. She'd never seduced anyone in her life and everything she had done until now had been imitations of things she'd seen Mai do on occasion, only more subtly than the busty blond. Biting her lip in determination she moved around him so that she could stand in the shallow end.

She let instinct guide her as she trailed her fingers up the side of her hips and stomach. Feeling a bit daring she traced the outline of her breast slowly, all the while keeping her gaze locked with Kaiba's. The haze in his eyes gave her courage to continue. From there she tangled her hands into her hair imitating some of the girls she always saw on the cover of Joey's magazines.

"Marco!"

Lowering herself in the water to hide her body from his view she looked up at him again from beneath her lashes. "Polo" she said her lip twitching upwards as she fought not to smirk.

"Polo" he answered after her. His low voice gave her shivers which cascaded over her arms.

Mokuba's splashing started in Tea's direction and she moved to escape his path…and directly towards Kaiba. He smirked at her new predicament. Tea fought the urge to gulp. She had played her cards and now it was his turn.

She turned from him, determined to swim away and put a safe amount of distance between them. He caught her before she got very far. Cornering her against one of the pool walls he caged her in with his arms, not unlike the move he had pulled in the bathroom the night before. Tea marginally relaxed. _Oh, if he thinks he can get me with that silly breathing on my ear thing again he's got ano-_

Kaiba's hand caressed her shoulder then made its way slowly down the outside of her arm. Tea's mind shut off completely as her whole body erupted in shivers despite the warm temperature of the pool. Her face heated as she looked up into his steely eyes. What she saw there startled her out of the sudden tingles her body had broken out in. There was an…uncertainty there. As subtle as it was, Tea saw it and realized that he had crossed a line in this game. Never before had either of them _touched_ each other. Kaiba was silently asking whether this was alright or not, even if he wasn't completely aware of it. Tea lowered her gaze to watch the water rippling around them, her blush creeping stealthily back onto her cheeks. Did she want to take this next step in their game? She supposed it was inevitable that it would happen sooner or later. But once they crossed this line, how far would things escalate after?

"Marco!"

Mokuba's shout startled her out of her thoughts and she realized Kaiba had moved away from her, now crossing to the other side of the pool as he called out in response to his brother. A smirk clung to his lips. Tea wasn't sure what to make of this. All uncertainty seemed to have left him now. He was completely unaware of the change of nature this game had just taken. _Well I guess I have no choice in the matter anymore…_she thought sullenly. "Polo!"

Mokuba's splashing once again turned towards her, and she began to follow Kaiba to the other side of the pool. She couldn't help but let a small smile grace her features as she eyed Kaiba who had let his previous amusement slip into a mask of impassiveness. He had been so gentle when touching her; this change might not be that bad.

Their game continued unawares to Mokuba each delivering tentative touches to the other that would hardly have gained the notice of anyone in public. However, to the two teens, this was new territory, and each were unsure of just how far to push each other. Each touch to the arm or shoulders made the receiver tingle. Kaiba was the one to eventually raise the stakes. Coming up behind the brunette, instead of the soft touch to her arm she had received previously, his fingers caressed the smooth skin of her hip. Tea gasped in surprise and tried to turn around, but Kaiba prevented her by sliding his had around her so that it splayed over her belly. He pushed her back into his chest and she nearly moaned as she felt the lean muscle there. Leaning close he whispered, "I win." His teeth nipped the outer shell of her ear and Tea dissolved into putty as heat surged through her. She tried to lean further into his delicious heat, uncaring of the outcome of their battle as long as he kept holding her like this when all too soon he was gone. The sudden absence of his presence behind her startled her back to reality. Letting her loss sink in she fumed and turned to glare at the offending man only to find him climbing the pool steps and crossing the deck over to where a towel laid on his chair.

The splashing of his leaving caught Mokuba's attention and the boy opened his eyes to pout at his brother. "You're leaving already?" he whined.

"Yes," Kaiba answered, slipping back into business mode. "I still have work to do before dinner. It's not like I can spend my valuable time playing silly children's games," he said coolly. Wrapping the towel around himself, he picked up the papers he had left on the side table, and strode towards the exit. As he passed through the door he threw a casual smirk back at Tea who stood totally dumbfounded in the shallow end of the pool. "Gardner, I trust someone of your status is enough to keep my brother entertained…?" without waiting for a reply he slid out the door, not bothering to look back.

Tea couldn't believe it. Where did the sexy Kaiba go from two minutes ago? _What the hell!?_ It was then the insults he'd thrown her way registered and her face mottled in anger. "How _dare_ he!" she screeched.

Mokuba swam over to her, touching her lightly on her arm to get her attention. "It's okay Tea," he smiled weakly up at her, "I'm surprised he even played at all."

Tea calmed herself as she looked down into Mokuba's grey eyes. Sighing softly she patted his head. "It's almost time for lunch. Want to eat it together?"

Mokuba lit up happily and nodded. As the two exited the pool the younger Kaiba chatted away to her. Tea half-listened to the boys ramblings as her thoughts turned to his moody, older brother. _How am I supposed to get him back…_she wondered and began devising plans for a comeback.

"-and you guys were so good! How did you get to be so good at Marco Polo Tea? You and Seto were so quiet. I had no idea where you guys were the whole time!"

Tea blushed to her roots as she caught his last jumbled sentences. "Um, practice," she mumbled feeling guilty that their attention hadn't been solely on Mokuba's game.

"Wow. I need to practice harder in the future then," Mokuba announced with childlike enthusiasm.

Tea sighed wearily as she allowed Mokuba to lead her out of the swimming room and up some stairs back towards her own room to change. "Why don't you wait till you're about five years older okay?" she said as they came to her room.

Mokuba watched with confusion as she let herself into her room and promised to meet up with him for lunch later shutting the door behind her.

* * *

It was getting late and Kaiba's turn to look after the baby had started more than an hour ago. Tea ambled down the hallway to where she guessed Kaiba's office was, baby and baby bags in tow. She had already tried his private rooms but only came across the night maid who came in to pull down the bed covers. The woman had said to try his office when Tea asked. So here she was, trying to remember where exactly his damn office was. _I swear there must be some Harry Potter shit going down. The rooms all change when I'm not looking 'cause I could have sworn that last door was the one to his office…_

The day before the two of them had worked out a time schedule so that they didn't need to constantly be together for the entire project. Kaiba had a company to run and Tea, well, Tea quite frankly just didn't want to spend her free time around an egotistical butt-munch.

Much to her relief the next door she opened seemed to be the right one. The lights were low and Tea couldn't help but gape at the lavish furnishings of the room. The rich coloured wall drapes and leather chairs screamed money. Glancing around for a place to set down her load, she noticed her partner draped in a chair at his desk, feet on the table and completely 'zonked out' as Joey would say. She had to stifle a laugh at the sight so as not to wake him.

Setting down the baby and bags next to his desk, she quietly zipped open the latter and slipped out the journal they were keeping for the project. She had meant to silently haul ass out of there when she glanced down quickly at his sleeping form. _Ooh baby, that is one fine piece of meat,_ she thought appreciatively as she raked her eyes over him. He looked delicious in his form fitting faded jeans and plain grey t-shirt. His sculpted arms crossed gently over his chest, and his breath came out slow and even. She had never seen him in such casual attire before, and she couldn't help but wish he wore clothes like that more often – _hello Abercrombie god, come to mama!!_ Placing the journal on his desk, Tea bent over him to get a closer look. All those frown lines he usually carried with him like the hump on Quasimodo were gone leaving behind a serene expression. _So this is what Kaiba would look like if he didn't have an enormous stick up is ass_, she thought. Her focus narrowed in on those full lips of his and she found herself leaning even closer. She could feel the breath coming from those parted lips tickle her face and she decided she liked it. _If I just get a little closer I could- _

Tea pressed her lips to his. _They're soft_. The thought flitted through her brain as she pulled back to gaze at him once more. _His job must be really stressful_ _if he just passes out in his chair like this_. A part of her wanted to spook him awake to get back at him for winning in the pool. The nicer part of her won out and she crossed the room to grab one of the blankets draped over the guest chairs. Bringing it over she covered him, making sure to bring the edge right up to his neck so he wouldn't catch a cold sitting in this drafty room. Having done her part, she made to grab the journal again then thought better of it. Instead she took one of the post-it notes off his desk, scribbled something down and stuck the paper to the journal. With that she swept out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her and feeling quite pleased with herself, a smile gracing her features.

* * *

A/N

I've rewritten this chapter, I think, about ten times!! That pool scene was driving me crazy and I couldn't seem to ever get it just right.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I am truly sorry for how long it took me to get this out. Summer has finally started and I'm hoping to get the next chapters of this fic out more quickly than this chapter.

~LithiumFlower

Preview for Chapter 5: Monday: Escalation 

One can get into all sorts of mischief in the darkness of a movie theatre …

…and Tea attempts to bribe the stone cold Seto


End file.
